Mental
by yolcholl
Summary: Annabeth Chase wasn't crazy. So what was she doing in this Mental Hospital. More specifically, "Goode's Hospital for the Mentally Challenged Youth". Why is she making friends with the seemingly bizzare patients. And most importantly, why is she falling for a guy who could kill her in her sleep, if his imaginary friend tells him to?
1. Prologue

Prologue

A six year old boy with black hair and sea-green eyes pulled a woman along with him on the busy sidewalk of New York City. "Mommy, mommy hurry up!" He yelled obviously wanting to get to their location quickly.

"Patience, Percy." Sally Jackson said, and pulled the young boy closer to her, keeping a tight grip on his hands the whole time."Where do you want to go now?" She asked the boy. She had promised him the whole day to do whatever he wanted with his mother, and though she needed badly to go home and rest after a long work day, she knew that she couldn't disappoint the six year old.

Percy looked at his mother with a look of extreme astonishment. On another face it may have looked even insulting, but on his face it was nothing but cute. He had assumed that his mother had known, of course, where he wanted to go, and was surprised that she didn't! "Ice cweam…" was all he said for her to get the message.

"All right Percy, it's right around the corner." Sally replied. She also rolled her eyes at her son's antics. She knew that Percy could pronounce his r's, but in order to get more attention from people, he sometimes mispronounced it.

A six year old Percy looked up at his mom, making sure she was paying attention to him. But a weird image in the corner of his eye, caused him to jerk to a stop and stare straight into the street. He saw a man, staring straight at him it seems.

"Percy?" Sally stared at him with a confused and worried look. Percy's attention quickly snapped to his mom and then to the waiting sugar around the corner.

"Let's go let's goooo!" Perc whined, once again pulling his mother toward the shop. Sally followed obediently, baffled at what on the road could have held Percy's attention for more that 10 seconds. Sometimes, she couldn't entertain the ADHD boy for half that long.

The mother and son couple rounded the corner and entered the shop. "Alright Percy, stay here while I go get the ice cream." Sally said, depositing the boy into a booth and walking away.

Percy fidgeted in his seat impatiently, after a few minutes he looked up to see her mother in a long line-up. It seemed like every kid in New York wanted ice cream right now! "Hi!" a voice beside him shocked him out of his thoughts, and he looked to see a boy about his age. That wasn't the strange thing about the figure though. The strange thing about the figure was that he had no shirt on, and where his legs should be...where his legs should be…."It's not nice to stare." The boy said matter of factly. Though it seemed as if he had no idea what was wrong with him. Percy looked at the boy in wonder, speechless. Because where his legs should be were long furry goat legs that ended in hooves.

"You're a satyr!" He yelled, earning some strange looks from other people around his table. He was proud that he remembered what his teacher had taught him a few days ago.

"Yup, my names Grover, I'm here to help you." The satyr replied.

"Why do I need help?" Percy asked, promptly. Grover stared at him in shock for a little while before answering.

"Because they're trying to kill you. They're going to poison you." Percy was disturbed by this piece of news, but didn't have time to reply because his mom had come back and handed him his chocolate ice cream.

"Excuse me dear," his mom said, "I need to go to the washroom quickly. Stay. Here." His mother said, with a look that told Percy his mother wasn't kidding.

"Don't eat the ice cream, Percy, or you'll die." Grover said, emphatically.

"That's not true…" Percy replied, but he knew that Grover was right. It was a feeling in his gut. Still, a six year old couldn't resist, and as he was about to take a little lick, a excruciating pain in his head stopped him. He immediately cried out, causing him to drop the treat onto the ground.

"I'm sorry I had to do that Percy, but I was right. I'm just trying to help you." Grover told him, with no remorse in his voice or face. Percy glared at the boy. "I know you don't hate me Percy I'm just trying to keep you alive. I don't want them to kill you. So you have to listen to what I say okay Percy?" Grover said sweetly.

Still recovering from the pain, Percy didn't reply but instead looked away from Grover. "Okay?" Grover asked more forcefully, a threat in his voice. Percy could feel the pain in head already, and quickly replied, "Okay."

"Cool!" Grover responded. "I know we are going to be the best of friends, Percy!"

Percy didn't notice the strange whispers in the shop though, directed at him. He didn't notice the other families, or the employees weird looks. As they wondered, why in the world was this little boy talking to himself?


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Annabeth Chase sighed. Again. For about the seventeenth time as the car got closer to the building and to the proclamation of her insanity.

She had begged, pleaded, cried for her dad to change his mind. She wasn't crazy, just misunderstood. Or at least that was what she was telling herself. Her father looked at her in the rearview mirror. He was dreading saying anything to his daughter ever since he found out about what she did. Ever since he saw her in the most vulnerable state. Her eyes red, crying. He knew he was a horrible father. A father who was caught up in his own little world with his wife and family to notice that his teenage daughter wanted to kill herself.

"Annabeth, darling, don't worry they'll help you!" Susan said in that sickly sweet voice of hers. Frederick winced, knowing that anything Susan said to Annabeth would worsen her mood. He was right, of course, because Annabeth snapped back immediately.

"Hopefully, help me forget about you." Was her reply. Her father winced once again, as Susan looked at him to defend her in some way. Ignoring the look, he pretended to be too engrossed in his driving to say anything. The drive continued in a tense silence before Bobby, bless his soul, said probably the worst thing in a situation like this.

"Annie-bet? Are you crazy?" His question got the attention from all the people in the car. Both adults were afraid how Annabeth would take the proclamation from her little brother, and watched as covertly as possible.

Surprisingly though, Annabeth took the question well, and responded in a quiet tone. "I don't know." It was the last things both adults expected her to say, and Susan was about to reply, but Frederick nudged her. No need to drive with an even moodier teenager, especially since they had about 30 more minutes of the car ride.

Annabeth of course saw the interaction between both people sitting in the front row. She was glad Bobby came with her, because he was the only member of the family she didn't resent, or even blame for her 'condition'. Her relationship was rocky between her step-mother, her father, and her 12 year old step brother, Matthew (who stayed home from the trip, on the advice of his mother).

She played with her 5 year old stepbrother for the rest of the trip, while trying to condition herself to be tough. She would walk in there and keep a straight face, nothing in that mental hospital would surprise her at all. She would be...a greaser. She remembered the book _The Outsiders, _and how the Greasers would always have the same tough attitude with everyone they met, while on the inside they could be scared.

Or, she could be Katniss Everdeen, who greeted everything with a cool, collected stare, though, with all of her emotional trauma, she was basically mentally insane on the inside. Which Annabeth was as well. Mentally insane that is.

Finally, they reached their destination. "Goode's Youth Hospital For the Mentally Insane", or as they liked to call it, 'Mentally Challenged'. A surge of panic hit Annabeth, and she considered begging her father again, or waiting until they all got out before locking herself in the vehicle. But, no. If she was going to go to this hospital. She'd do it in dignity.

From the outside the Hospital looked like just that, a regular emergency hospital, but on closer inspection Annabeth realized that is was much larger that an average hospital, and nothing was surrounding the building but other buildings similarly labelled, "Goode's Mental Hospital".

The irony of the name made Annabeth smile wryly. Yes, because everything in the mental institution was definitely 'goode'. What she tried to do to herself was 'goode'. The crazy patients inside that she would meet would be 'goode' as well. She bet that they even had a stupid slogan. Any organization with a name like that can't resist having a stupid slogan.

A smiling man in a wheelchair greeted them at the entrance. He had the start of a beard, and was wearing clothes that could be only be described as one a professor would be wearing. Annabeth guessed that the man was about 30 years or so, but streaks of white in his beard and bags under his eyes made him look older.

"Welcome to Goode's mental hospital for youth! I'm Chiron Brunner, Mr. Brunner to you though!" He said with a sort of forced enthusiasm that was at the same time as genuine as one could sound without looking like you're trying too hard. Instead of answering, Annabeth just chose to stare at him. No need to be friendly with anyone here, not when she's just planning to stay for a few weeks. Her plan was to fake it. "Say what they want you to say" was her motto for most of her life, and kept her out of trouble with most teachers and even her parents.

Her father looked at her for a second, wondering if she was going to respond before he responded himself. "Uh, pleasure to meet you Mr. Brunner, I'm Frederick, Annabeth's father." He replied, stretching his hand out for the crippled man to reach. Frederick looked bothered by the fact that Mr. Brunner was in a wheelchair, and did what people tend to do when they see a disabled person. Try to pretend everything's okay, but be way nicer.

Mr. Brunner just smiled, noticing the attitudes and reactions of everyone in the group, but not being bothered by them. His actions uneased Annabeth. How could he be so calm? "And, you must be Annabeth" he said, addressing her, "because he looks a little too small to be having any problems at all!" He exclaimed, looking at Bobby, who was being carried by Susan, in the way adults usually talk to desired response came from the toddler in the action of a giggle.

"Can you follow me, Ms. Chase? As for the rest, you can leave now, and don't worry, Annabeth is in safe hands." Mr. Brunner concluded. Frederick looked confused, probably expecting to be briefed on what is happening, or at least follow Annabeth through the tour. But, he didn't say anything about it, only "Um...alright. Be good Annabeth!"

Annabeth though, living up to the rebellious teen cliche, ignored her dad; instead she bent down to Bobby, who had recently been deposited on the ground by Susan to wander around. "Goodbye Bobby. You're the only one in the family that I'll actually miss..."

Bobby who obviously didn't understand the importance of that sentence, instead only hearing the sentiment, hugged his sister. "Bye, bye, Annie!" He muttered.

Her parents left quickly after that, dragging Bobby away, probably realizing that the boy might throw a tantrum about his sister's absence.

Annabeth turned around to see Mr. Brunner looking at her with an eyebrow raised. He evidently must have heard what she'd said to her brother. "Alright Ms. Chase, I'm sorry that you're parents had to leave quickly, but some patients are, let's say, anxious about new presences. Please hand me any electronic items you might have on you." He looked at Annabeth's incredulous face before saying, "It's part of the therapy, limited access to the outside world."

Biting her lip, Annabeth handed him her phone, but, as an act of defiance, kept her ipod. Mr. Brunner might have known that Annabeth was keeping something from him, but didn't call her out on it. Instead he led her to the elevator and showed her to her to her room, on the fifth floor at the end of the hall. Room number 307.

She entered the room to be surprised by the white. Almost every single object was white, or closely related to the shade. "For today, you're dinner will be in your room, as for your breakfast tomorrow, because as I said, some patients are uncomfortable around new presences. You'll be introduced at group therapy tomorrow after breakfast. Your schedule for the week is on the desk. Please, Ms. Chase, refrain from leaving your room at all tonight. Some members can be dangerous if provoked. I'll see you tomorrow at individual therapy." Mr. Brunner said from the door. He tried to sound lighthearted and bright, but some of the things he said weighed heavily on him, as if he wished that the patients weren't dangerous, and people could frolic as they wished around these halls.

When he left, Annabeth locked the door behind her, and explored her new habitat. The bed was in the centre of the room, with white sheets and a white comforter. She noticed that the sheets on the bed were strongly fastened to it, and the desk on the left of it, bracing the wall had no sharp edges. _Nice to know that you trust me so_ she thought. And, with childhood giddiness, smiled when she noticed that her thought had rhymed.

Immediately after, she jumped on top of the mattress, and under the covers. She plugged her headphones into her ipod and into one ear. And, with help from the soft rhythmic music, fell asleep, but not before mentally finding the connections between her life in the current song that was playing.

_When she was just a girl, she expected the world_

_But it flew away from her reach, so she ran away in her sleep._


End file.
